Sprouts Farmers Market to offer Katy area shoppers a new choice for groceries

By Trish Johnson |
March 19, 2013
| Updated: March 21, 2013 7:55am

Sprouts Farmer's Market is scheduled to open March 27 at 23105 Cinco Ranch Blvd.

Photo By Tony Bullard 2013/Freelance Photographer

Sprouts Farmers Market is scheduled to open March 27 at 23105 Cinco Ranch Blvd. Sprouts manager Troy Lively prepares for the opening in Katy.Sprouts Farmers Market is scheduled to open March 27 at 23105 Cinco Ranch Blvd. Sprouts manager Troy Lively prepares for the opening in Katy.

If a store can be a good neighbor, then Troy Lively plans to make Katy's newest purveyor of groceries a first-class neighbor.

"I am really excited about being able to serve our community," said Lively, who is the manager of the Sprouts Farmers Market set to open at 23105 Cinco Ranch Blvd. on March 27. "Right now, we're reaching out to schools and nonprofit organizations. We're planning a 'shop night' where the parents can come in and shop, and 5 percent of their purchase will go to their school.

"We also have our One Smart Cookie program. Teachers get coupons which they can give out for good grades or something like that. With the coupons, the student can get a cookie or something else.

"We definitely want to reach out to our community," Lively added.

"We're looking forward to meeting all of our new neighbors," said Sprouts President and CEO Doug Sanders. "Sprouts has a deep commitment to serving each community we live in. We believe in giving back by supporting local nonprofit and educational groups that share our goals of improved health, nutrition and fitness."

For Lively, 41, the Katy store is his first Sprouts store after 22 years in the natural and organic foods market. A Houston native, Lively grew up in the Alief area and graduated from Elsik High School. He attended Texas A&M University where he earned a degree in business management.

Although the Cinco Ranch store is the first store in the Houston area, Sanders said the store is the 24th store in Texas, and the first of four stores slated for the Houston area, including Spring Cypress and Copperfield.

"We think Sprouts will do well in the Katy area," Sanders. "It's a lifestyle area with young families. When we looked at the availability of organic foods, we thought the Katy area was right for us."

Sanders, a native of Nacogdoches, said he looks forward to opening stores in Texas because "I get to go home for a few days."

"We have a produce-buying team in Dallas and that allows us to buy local and regional," said Sanders. "We definitely have a buying presence in Texas and that allows us to buy the best quality at the best price.

"We've been working on Houston for the past two years," he continued. "We definitely see a lot of stores there.

"We've had a lot of excitement about the store. We set up our Facebook page and had 7,000 Facebook fans in the first week."

Sanders, who has been with the company since its inception, said the first Sprouts store opened in Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix, in 2002. The company now has a total of 151 stores.

"Our motto is 'Healthy Living for Less'," said the company's president.

On March 26, one day before the store's opening, Sprouts is hosting a Health Fest, Lively said.

"From 4 to 7 p.m., we'll have rock-climbing, an 18-foot inflatable slide, a hula hoop contest for adults and kids, a cooking demonstration, and an open house so our customers can get a sneak peek at the store.

"On opening day," he said, "we'll have 200 reusable grocery bags. Every 15th customer will get a coupon booklet and a reusable bag. On Saturday after the opening, 20 Golden Tickets will be hidden around the store. The tickets allow you to get $20 off your purchase."

According to the store manager, the 25,000-square-foot store will have about 100 employees, most from Katy or the surrounding Metro area.

"We have a wide range of guests," Lively pointed out. "Most live in the Katy area. We find our guests care about their community, their health, and like saving money on healthy products. Our pricing is very competitive."

Lively said there is an advantage for customers to shop on Wednesday "because of our 'Double Ad Wednesday'.

"Our ads come out on Wednesday and are good up to and through the following Wednesday. So, on Wednesday, both the previous ad's prices and the new ad's prices are in effect."

Lively also said the store can be expected to carry most produce that's in season. "If it's not in season we won't have it. We don't want to offer something that would be poor quality," Lively said.

Lively also urged customers to call him at the store, 281-769-0444, should they ever have any questions or suggestions.